Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub
Any Arsenal fan will tell you that the last few seasons have been tough. They will need no reminding that the last trophy the club won was back in 2005. However the start of this season led to more than a few whispers that perhaps Arsène Wenger wasn’t the right man for the club. So perhaps now would be a good time for fans to remind themselves of the glory days.
The new version of Alex Fynn and Kevin Witcher’s book, Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub, tells the story of the Gunners’ rise to a football superpower, and the subtle accent above the e in Arsenal tells you exactly who they think is responsible. Wenger is widely regarded as the most successful Arsenal manager but even some of the more hardcore Wenger fans may well be doubting his promises that trophies will come. Fynn and Witcher write about how Wenger was plucked almost out of obscurity, led the club to trophies and then, in this version which is updated to the end of 2010/11 season, to a drought now lasting 6 seasons.
For those of you who haven’t heard of them, Kevin Witcher is the editor of one of the most successful Arsenal fanzines, The Gooner, and has also written a book about Arsenal’s double winning season, 1997/98. Alex Fynn has been described as a football guru by Wenger himself and has written numerous books about Arsenal as well as the political side of the beautiful game. The pair have also co-written a book together previously, The Glorious Game.
What Fynn and Witcher don’t know about Arsenal probably isn’t worth knowing and between them they provide a fascinating insight into the inner sanctum of Arsenal Football Club. The book tells the story of how Wenger, with the help of David Dein helped turn Arsenal from the ‘Boring, boring Arsenal’ into a team that is renowned around the world for attractive football. With the help of David Dein, Wenger was able to build a team to his specification, bringing in the likes of Vieira, Henry, Petit, Campbell and a host of other players that helped Arsenal go a season unbeaten in 2003/04.
Fynn and Witcher then go on to tell the story of how Dein was forced out by the board against Wenger’s wishes. The Frenchman even considered resigning when he heard the news and we learn how, without Dein, Wenger struggled to sign the quality of players that graced the ‘Invincibles’. The authors pose a good question: ‘how in 2010/11 could the manager believe he had a potential title-winning squad which depended on a spine of Almunia, Squillaci and Denilson?’
The book also gives the inside track on many big moments in the club’s recent history including the reasons why Dein left, the move and the ‘Arsenalisation’ of the Emirates Stadium, the appointment of Ivan Gazidis, and the reasoning behind Arsène Wenger’s transfer and wage policies. Fynn and Witcher also speculate on the reasons why Arsenal don’t seem to be able to compete in the transfer market, citing commercial deals as the main reason Arsenal’s income is lower than the teams ahead of them in the Premier League table, but Arsenal’s turnover has increased ten-fold since Wenger took over.
For those Arsenal fans who are fed up with the team who now seem like perennial 4th placers, this book is the perfect antidote, reminding them of how much Arsène Wenger has done for the club. The book also tells the story of the recent downfall and how a lack of leadership has blighted the first team in recent years. As an Arsenal fan myself, I have read a few books about Arsenal but this one is the most insightful and provides a view through the looking glass into the workings behind the scenes of Arsenal. This is a must read for any Arsenal fan, Wenger admirer or anyone interested in the off the pitch aspect of football.
Arsenal – The Making of a Modern Superclub is available at all good bookstores. (Disclosure: Just Football received a copy of this book for review).
Note – the original article has been amended to correct a factual error. As pointed out in the comments, Dennis Bergkamp was not signed under Wenger.
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About Joe Tompkins
I am an FA Level 1 coach and a Level 7 Referee. I wrote about Paraguay during the 2010 World Cup and hope to write about a variety of topics during the next season. Follow me on Twitter @JoeTheRef
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I thought Bruce Rioch signed Dennis Bergkamp?
Problema lui Arsenal e Arsene Wenger in momentul asta. Iar prebloma lui Wenger e incapatanarea. Nu vrea sa inteleaga si nu cred ca va intelege vreodata ca nu poti face performanta cu o linie defensiva formata din clovni. Sebastien Squillaci e un dinozaur care nu mai prindea echipa nici la Sevilla, in timp ce Laurent Koscielny a jucat un singur an la nivel inalt, la Lorient. Tot in centrul apararii, Vermaelen si Djourou cunosc mai bine infirmeria decat gazonul, degeaba au calitate.Pe benzi, Gael Clichy si Bacary Sagna au slabit enorm in ultimul sezon. Clichy si-a pierdut si locul la nationala in fata lui Patrice Evra, iar Sagna nu si-a imbuntatit absolut deloc centrarile marca Banel. Daca toti jucatorii din linia mediana sunt apti, Arsenal are de departe cel mai bun motor din Anglia, asta e singurul sector intr-adevar acoperit. In atac iarasi e jale. Van Persie Chamakh Bendtner. Toti trei au peste 1,88m inaltime si se misca mai incet decat alearga Theo Walcott cu spatele. Eu cred ca la Arsenal ar face istorie un jucator in genul lui Cavani, un oportunist d-asta care din cinci faze iti baga trei.De prebloma portarului la Arsenal nici n-are rost sa mai pomenesc. E de cand lumea si pamantul, dar Arsene Wenger tot nu vrea sa bage mana in buzunar pentru un Hugo Lloris sau David de Gea. Lehman si Almunia au distrus finala de la Paris plus o multime de alte meciuri, Szczesny a facut praf finala de pe Wembley, iar Fabianski era la un moment dat mai huiduit pe Emirates ca Ashley Cole. Cam astea ar fi problemele de lot. Dar, prebloma suprema la londonezi este atitudinea de loser, lipsa determinarii si absenta unui jucator care sa conduca vestiarul.
Nice article, but I always thought Wenger had no play to part in bringing DB10 to the club !
“With the help of David Dein, Wenger was able to build a team to his specification, bringing in the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, who we learn may well not have been signed had Wenger known about his fear of flying…”
Wenger didn’t have anything to do with Bergkamp’s signing, it happened a couple of years before under Bruce Rioch. I’m sure Fynn and Witcher know this, but your reviewer doesn’t.
Wenger did not sign Dennis Bergkamp, Bruce Rioch did, and I’d be very surprised if the book said otherwise.
Had a feeling a few people would pick up on that. I wasn’t sure myself when I read it but the book implied that while Bergkamp was signed while Rioch was manager, David Dein signed Bergkamp on Wengers instructions. I will double check it later as it could be I misread it. Still nice to know you are reading it closely!
Yep will hold my hands up on that one, David Dein conducted the negotiations on Rioch’s behalf not Wenger’s. Bergkamp was signed a year before Wenger arrived, my fault for not checking the dates.
Okay the reason Arsenal are in the rctiale is because Wenger coined the financial doping phrase, and that’s it. If you prefer to see it as being an attempt to wind up gooners, then fill your boots; but next time you read a piece about Liverpool somewhere, and see thousands of scousers going bonkers in the comments bit underneath, about lazy journalism’ etc and you think, what’s got their goat If you want me to point out who in the Arsenal squad is the exact replica of Bridge or Bogarde, then I can’t, because there isn’t one; for one thing, having built The Emirates on an old Indian burial ground or whathaveyou means that most people within walking distance of the pitch have a good chance of getting a game at Arsenal at the moment. But I’d say Lansbury, Benayoun, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bendtner would likely have gone elsewhere full-time if Arsenal weren’t prepared to pay them more to not play for Arsenal than other clubs would pay them to play 90 minutes a week.As for comparing eras, yeah this is a very rough way of looking at things really but you did say that players being happy to just bench-warm and collect cash has always been going on, so I was trying to show that it hasn’t.I’m not suggesting this is because players didn’t like money 20 years ago, but it’s just that clubs had a lot less to spend on wages; as they only needed a dozen or so good players in those days, plus a bit of filler, then the first XI was where the money was spent. Clubs couldn’t afford to spend big money on players who weren’t playing, so they didn’t. Another Liverpool example was selling Rush then buying Aldridge; then when they bought Rush back again, Aldridge was out of the side, so they got rid. That wouldn’t happen now if Utd could get Ronaldo back, they wouldn’t start thinking about where to dump Ashley Young, for instance.This alternative financial doping isn’t necessary an intended thing clubs are just signing non-playing players as backup really, eg if Ashley Cole was injured/suspended/rubbish a bit more frequently then I doubt Wayne Bridge would have the reputation he does. (although it would surprise me if Citeh weren’t of the effect on their rivals of signing Nasri, Milner, Lescott, Barry.) But because player wages aren’t linked to what they actually do, then this does see the top six stockpiling good players who aren’t doing anything.eg imagine if Cudicini, Bosingwa, Bridge, Alex, Rafael, Woodgate, Adam Johnson, Milner, Valencia, Berbatov, Anelka, Drogba, Owen, Bellamy, etc. were playing at clubs where they were playing every week eg Everton, Newcastle, Stoke, Fulham, West Brom, etc. those clubs would be much better offer, with little effect on the clubs they left behind. With the result of a much more competitive premier league.I guess one way to look at it might be that it’s not the doping that’s the problem so much, it’s more that not everyone can afford the dope!
You make a good point, Arsenal have a lot higher wage bill than people might think. Whilst they don’t have anyone on the £200k a week like Manchester City, everyone in the first team squad is paid quite a generous amount as Wenger doesn’t like to have wage disparity within the squad. Hopefully the financial fair play rules will reduce the “doping”
Oh dear.
Apologies to readers and thanks for pointing this out. Have amended above in the article itself and made note of the error. Cheers.